Ballad of the Aleutian Queen
by Cornelia May
Summary: DEADLIEST CATCH- She is a rarity in the crabbing world; considered to be bad luck aboard most if not all fishing vessels in Dutch Harbor, save for her own boat. Please R and R
1. Chapter 1

Prolog

The _Aleutian Queen_:

-Deep purple with burgundy pin striping and lettering. Previously national blue and corn gold

-Wheelhouse: house aft

-Built in 1972

-Length: 145' with a max capacity of 250 crab pots

Crew:

-Captain: Amber Jennings

-Deck Boss: Frank Dobbs

-Engineer: Tony Miles

-Relief Skipper: Marty Connors

-Deck Hand: Rodney Harrison

-Deck Hand: Roy Penn

-Greenhorn: Collin McDaniel

~.*.~

She is a rarity in the crabbing world; considered to be bad luck aboard most if not all fishing vessels in Dutch Harbor, save for her own boat. The boat itself has under gone a change in color, from national blue with corn gold pin striping and lettering to a deep, regal purple with burgundy pin striping and lettering. For as long as she remembers it has been in her family and she will do her damnedest to keep it that way.


	2. Chapter 2

She is in Dutch Harbor for the first time in three years, and not much has changed in the small town that overlooks Captains Bay, except that name of the fisherman's bar, The Elbow Room is now known around town as Latitudes.

In the three years she has been off the never ending grind off fishing she has been improving her vessel, the _Aleutian Queen_. The boat itself is thirty some years old and had been needing a major overhaul. Previously the boat's colors were blue and gold, and didn't really read royal to the captain, so she changed them to the current deep purple and burgundy. The engine room and the crew quarters also got renovated.

Now she stands on the dock, looking at her couple ton steel baby. The _Queen _is one of the largest boats in the fleet and has been one of the top performers, to which her captain wanted, no needed to maintain. She feels an arm snake around her shoulder.

"Well, well, that is one fine looking boat Captain Jennings," an all too familiar voice says.

"Joshua Harris, you oughta know better than to go sneaking up on people like that." Amber Jennings replies, her Norwegian temperament showing.

"Now you had to have felt my arm around your shoulders,"

"Not the point Ding, where's your brother Dong?"

"Jake's at the bar, one of the last places he should be," Josh sighed, "can I buy you a drink?"

"You know me; I don't drink until after the season is over."

"Ri-ight, that alcohol superstition you have as well as that quarter thing when leaving port."

"Hey, it's better than the Swedish Circle thing the Hillstrands do," Amber said defensively; one of her crew members was a Cajun.

"Don't get all defensive, just making a joke."

"Time and a place Josh Harris," Amber responded, rolling her eyes.

"Dinner at the Grand?"

"Are you asking me out…on a date?"

"No, just want to take some time to catch up with Dad's protégée."

"Look, Josh, as much as I want to, I have a lot of things that have to be done here before King Season starts."

"It can wait,"

"No, Josh, it can't, I want to test the new engines here in the Harbor this afternoon. By the way, sorry about Phil, he was a good man, a better fisherman, and an even better father; he's an angel behind the fleet now."

Josh's eyes welled with tears, not a moment goes by that he doesn't think about is father. "See ya around town then?" he asks as she boards her boat.

"I'll be around, drop a line if you need anything." With that she disappears into the galley of the _Queen_.

~.*.~

October fifteenth, is the traditional start of the Red King Crab season on the Bering Sea, and as Fate would have it the fifteenth just so happens to land on a Friday. Amber gazes out the windows of the wheelhouse for what seems like forever before she gets on the two way radio waves.

"Hey, _Northwestern_, this is the _Aleutian Queen_, got your ears on Sig?" Radio fishing isn't Amber's style, but the Hansen boys are her third cousins, on her mother's side of the family.

"_Ah, I heard the Queen was back in town and sporting new colors._" Sig replies moments later.

"Ha, ha, very funny. Blue and gold read more Future Farmers of America than the queen of all crab boats."

"_Mind your boastfulness Amber, preseason talk like that can get one into heaps of trouble._"

"Like you Hansen's don't pretend to be the kings of the ocean."

"_Come now cousin; settle in to running the boat again, no need to be back up here right after the fresh paint is dry._"

"I called to say I'm hosting supper on my boat tonight for all the captains and their kin, if any that work on their vessels, if you could pass the word around to Jonathan and Andy that would be great."

"_I believe Edgar and I can make it over, you know how Norm is, and yeah, I'll pass the information along, see you tonight._"

Amber thinks it will be a good idea to get all the captains in the _Queen's _galley before the season starts, to see old friends and meet new faces, and of course make the traditional Captains' Wager.


	3. Chapter 3

Word soon spread throughout the fleet about Amber's little dinner party on the _Aleutian Queen_. Most radio back to her saying that they are most defiantly coming, others say maybe, and one says that they are unable to make it. Among those coming are the Hillstrands, which Amber is glad of. She spends the rest of the day cooking and baking for dinner. As was a long standing crew tradition, her crew goes to the Grand Aleutian Hotel to have their preseason dinner, except this time it is without their captain.

The food gets done just as Sig and Edgar haul themselves over the rail and onto the deck of the _Queen_. They tour the deck for a while before stepping below to take their seats at the galley table. Soon after, the other captains start to arrive, some bringing a covered dish, others with nothing more than themselves. Amber greeted them all in the same way, a simple, firm hand shake.

Set in her role as the hostess, Amber served everyone else before herself; which everyone thought was a little strange, being that crabbers had their own way of doing things, which usually meant one served themselves.

"Amber, you don't need to impress us like this, everyone knows you've already made a name for yourself fishing." Andy told her, as she served him and Jonathan.

"I am extending hospitality, nothing more," she replied in a hushed tone.

Everyone knew that she had some minor health concerns, and guessed she was there ADR (against doctor's recommendation). But the strange thing was that they knew she didn't smoke and she rarely drank anything other than coffee, sweet iced tea, and water.

~.*.~

It was the day before the king crab season was set to start and like any other boat the _Aleutian Queen _was making last minute preparations before leaving town. Amber and her relief skipper, Marty Connors, were up in the wheelhouse looking over the crab surveys and charts of the ocean floor to map out where the first prospect strings were to be dropped. Amber lay on the bench that was attached to the aft port wall of the wheelhouse, next to the stairs that lead down to the staterooms and the galley; she will not admit it, but she is feeling the stress of being the skipper of a boat for the first time and it was causing her heart to beat off rhythm, even though she'd taken her medication.

"You alright, Cap?" Marty asks his niece.

"I'm fine, Marty," she replies, somewhat strained.

Marty sighs and walks over to her. He felt the pulse at her wrist. "Did you take your medication this morning?" he asks.

"Yes," Amber replies, wearily.

"You should rest Amber, don't want you coming down with anything while we're out there." He gestured vaguely to the ocean beyond Priest Rock.

She nods in reply and heads down to her state room to get a few more hours of sleep. She knows the crew will go on a last minute grocery run and top off the fuel tanks before heading into town for a round of Duck Farts. With the way she is feeling now, she knows it will be a long hard grind ahead.


End file.
